14
MARCH2015
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
off theground,fromhelping integrate
DC-10s intoUnited’s freighter ser-
vice to launching theCargo Support
center. “I had a great VP inCargo,”
she recalls.“I remember the conversa-
tions: ‘You cando anything youwant.
You’re young.Pick opportunities, and
opportunities will pick you.’”Eleven
yearsago,oneopportunity thatpicked
her was to be in a core group to
determine the future strategy of
Express—a very small group that has
not stoppedgrowing.
“We continue to grow and build,”
Gabriel says.“It’s thebest job I’vehad
in the company. I get towork outside
the company and experience a lot of
entrepreneurial spirit,but I alsoget to
workwithUnited anddevelopmyself
insomanydifferentareas.Idon’t think
other jobs offer that.”
Based inChicago,where she grew
up,Gabriel travels 60 percent of the
time,whether tomeet with regional
airlinepartnersor tocoordinateopera-
tions at hubs and other airports. “We
overseemore than150airports,witha
lotof small airports thatarepartof the
community,sowehave torepresent the
airline there,workingwithcommunity
groups anddoing airport planning.”
Sometimesher travel takesheras far
away asBrazil to take delivery of new
airplanes, whichmust be integrated
into the fleet.“Whenwebring innew
aircraft, it’s not just the plane itself,”
she says, “but how dowe integrate it
into the system?How dowe train all
thepersonnel for thisnewaircraft?It’s
not just bringing it on at United, but
bringing it on with our partner. I’ve
done thata few times—fromdaynone
today one. It couldbe a year or a year
andahalf from the timewe firstdecide
to flyanaircraft to the time theaircraft
takes flight.”
In theend,whetherbringingonnew
aircraft or bringingonnew amenities,
suchas the fresh foodExpress is intro-
ducing onboard this month,Gabriel
says sheandher teamnever forget the
end goal: creating a wonderful travel
experience for the customer.
“We are the extension of United,”
shesays.”Wewant it toall lookand feel
as similar to the customer as it can. I
think customers understand that.”
“I
like the comforting chaos of
start-up opportunities,”Alicia
Gabriel says, explaining the thrill
she gets from her responsibilities as
a seniormanager of performance for
UnitedExpress. In fact, she has got-
tena thrill fromher entirecareerwith
UnitedAirlines—a careermarkedby
start-up opportunities.
Gabriel is one of five performance
managerswhooversee responsibilities
forUnited’s regional services.“Weare
responsible forwell over 500 aircraft,
from prop aircraft up to our newest
Embraer E175,” she says. “Express
fills in where it’s not profitable to
fly mainline flights—for example,
New York toWashington at non-
peak times.”
She recognizes that not everyone
understands the need for regional
service, but she explains that United
Expressallowsadepthandbreadthof
serviceUnitedwouldnototherwisebe
able to offer and brings customers to
United’s domestic and international
network. “If we didn’t have Express,
we would not be able to servemany
of the communities we serve today,”
she says. “That wouldmean people
would have to seek alternate modes
of travel or just not be able to travel
at all. United Express enables our
customers to get where they want to
goor need to go.”
In her 27 years at United,Gabriel
has had her hand in lots of areas,
helping to get divisions and services
ExpresslyYours
AliciaGabriel saysher job is to removedistinctions
betweenUnitedandUnitedExpress
BYA. AVERYLRE
voices
